Train crews power mid-April employment gains
Figures released by the Surface Transportation Board show Class I railroad employment rose 0.31% in mid-April 2014, measured against a year earlier, and also advanced 0.81% from mid-March levels.
Author: Douglas John Bowen
Short line gets new name, new owner
Hermon, Maine-based Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway has a new identity – Central Maine and Quebec Railway – following its purchase by Railroad Acquisisition Holdings LLC, an arm of New York-based Fortress Investment Group.
EPA names Coos Bay a ‘Smartway’ partner
Short line Coos Bay Rail Link (CBR) has been named a new member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay® Transport Partnership program, the railroad announced Monday, May 19, 2014.
Two unions ponder SEPTA strike
Engineers employed by SEPTA’s regional rail operations plan to vote on authorizing a strike against the five-county authority, the national office of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said Friday, May 16, 2014.
Gains continue for U.S. freight traffic
U.S. freight rail traffic rose during the week ending May 10, 2014, extending gains for the year to date, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, May 15.
TRB seeks proposals for Safety IDEA Program
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) said Wednesday, May 14, 2014 it is accepting proposals for its Safety IDEA Program, “which supports the development and testing of innovative concepts and methods for improving railroad safety or performance.”
Met Council touts Green Line economic impact
St. Paul, Minn.’s yet-to-open Green Line (Central Corridor LRT project) is being credited with “at least $2.5 billion worth of new construction and redevelopment projects” by the Metropolitan Council, overseeing public transit in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
Atlanta, MARTA to jointly operate streetcar
Choosing an option preferred by some other U.S. cities redeploying streetcars within their borders, Atlanta on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 said it would share direct operational responsibility of its new streetcar line. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) will partner in the effort.
Class action suit targets KCS
Kansas City Southern appears to have become the target of shareholder class action, including from a law firm claiming the Class I railroad “and certain of its executive officers made a series of false and misleading statements in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,” pertaining to the company’s Mexican operations.
Axion gets third Russian order for ECOTRAX ties
Axion International Holdings, Inc. has received a third purchase order from Russia of its ECOTRAX® rail ties, and the second from a Moscow-based transit system, the company said Tuesday, May 13, 2014.